Abstract
The concept of wellbeing is gaining popularity in the study of quality of life
and cultural significance of living. The paper aims to contribute to our understanding of
objective and subjective wellbeing by exploring the perceptions of women left behind by
out-migrating husbands on their quality of life in a transnational social field. The paper
uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Its primary focus is on the life
stories of the four women left behind by their migrant husbands, complementing by
quantitative data obtained from a survey among 277 households. Taking an example from
Nepal’s eastern terai, the paper shows that additional income from remittances has
increased the objective wellbeing of the women left behind, but it may not have increased
their subjective wellbeing. Hence, it is concluded that improved objective wellbeing of a
woman does not necessarily translate into her (improved) subjective wellbeing. The subjective
experiences are rather complex, multi-faceted and context specific depending on the
family situation, socio-cultural disposition and prior economic situation of the actors
involved.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 401-420 |
Journal | Social Indicators Research |
Volume | 108 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- international migration
- double engagement
- labor migration
- transnationalism
- livelihoods
- countries
- lives